With the support of the European Union and the Council of Europe and in co-operation with the Ministry of Interior of Montenegro, a three-day training for police and prosecutors was held on 25-27 September 2023. It focused on the investigation and seizure of cryptocurrencies and digital assets originating from money laundering.

The training provided participants coming from law enforcement, Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and Special Prosecutor’s Office with an opportunity to get introduced to the main international standards in this field (FATF, EU). In addition, they were presented with examples of domestic regulation and standardised operational procedures of Germany and Serbia along three clusters: investigation, seizure, and education, were presented.

Furthermore, the participants learned how to recognise a public and a private key in cryptocurrency transactions, to create their own software wallet for cryptocurrencies transactions and to identify typologies of money laundering through cryptocurrencies, as illustrated in the presented case study.

The initial and final tests conducted before and after the training demonstrated significant progress in the participants' acquisition of knowledge, with the group's scores increasing from 40% to 80%.  Ultimately, this training represents a continuation of joint efforts to support Montenegrin authorities in the effective prosecution and adjudication of money laundering cases.

The activity was organised by the Action against economic crime in Montenegro, within the framework of the European Union/Council of Europe joint programme Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye.